Notebook: Changes are coming to NASCAR’s scoring system

Todd Warshaw/Getty ImagesKevin Harvick (29) earned 190 points last April at Talladega for beating Jamie McMurray (1) to the finish line and winning the Aaron's 499. NASCAR president Mike Helton said Friday an overhaul of the current points system is likely for 2011. NASCAR has discussed a system that would award 43 points to a race winner, with points declining from first to 43rd place in one-point increments.

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(January 21, 2011)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— Anyone who doubts NASCAR will adopt a simplified scoring system for determining its champions in all three of its top national touring series simply wasn’t listening.

Though NASCAR hasn’t ironed out the minutiae, sanctioning body president Mike Helton made it clear Friday at Daytona International Speedway that change is coming.

“The goal for some time is to create a points system that is easy to understand, easy to explain, easy to be talked about, but also (to) be credible at the end of the season,” Helton said.

In recent meetings with owners and drivers, NASCAR has discussed a simplified system that would award 43 points to a race winner, with points declining from first to 43rd place in one-point increments. Still under consideration are enhancements to the system that would include bonuses for winning races and leading laps.

“Our goal was to make it simple, so we start there,” Helton said. “We feel like we have a model—or actually several—that accomplish that.

“We can continue enhancing the attention to and the appetite to win with bonus points and how we apply those to a basic simple structure to start with.”

It’s also likely that eligibility for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will be redefined, with perhaps the final two of the 12 positions being filled by drivers with the most victories who haven’t qualified for the Chase on points.

“We do have models around the Chase that—and I would say models, I’d say a couple—that we’re tweaking through these conversations (with the teams) that again goes back to the earlier question about focusing on wins and how do you enhance the importance of winning that would be reflected in setting the Chase field,” Helton said.

Though the Chase is unique to the Cup series, Helton said any change in the points system also would apply to the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series.

Goodyear got head start on tire testing

Long before a tire test in December and the current full-field test at Daytona International Speedway, Goodyear began developing the tires Sprint Cup drivers will use in the Daytona 500.

The massive repaving project at the 2.5-mile speedway, which ran from early July to December, prevented Goodyear from testing at Daytona, but because the asphalt was the same used to repave Talladega Superspeedway in 2006, the tire maker felt comfortable with using that track as a baseline.

“We really committed to develop our product for the Daytona 500 at Talladega,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing.

Accordingly, Goodyear tested at Talladega in August. It also helped that Daytona provided Goodyear with a section of the new asphalt.

“They actually laid down a test strip of the asphalt that was going to be used on the speedway,” Stucker said, “and that enabled us to come and do some traction trailer work, where we could actually measure the coefficient of friction of the new surface and also do some surface characterization—where we actually measure the microscopic level of the surface itself and kind of look at all the nooks and crannies of the new asphalt.”

For the Daytona 500, Goodyear chose a tire combination that’s a departure from that used before the resurfacing of the speedway, which hadn’t been repaved since 1978. Cup drivers will race on right-side tires that also will be used at 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway and left-side tires that historically have been used at Talladega.

“Fortunately, we were able to get on the racetrack back in December and confirm that what we had chosen was a very good recommendation,” Stucker said.
Testing at Daytona ends Saturday.

Kvapil, Gilliland returning to Front Row Motorsports

Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland are returning to Front Row Motorsports as full-time Sprint Cup drivers, in the Nos. 34 and 38 Fords, respectively, the team announced Friday.

“I’m thrilled to have Travis and David back,” said owner Bob Jenkins, who intends to race a third car, the No. 37 Ford in selected races this season. “We’re going into our third season running full time in Sprint Cup, and we’re really starting to build something here with these guys.”

Jenkins made two important personnel moves for the 2011 season, adding Bill Henderson as crew chief for Kvapil and naming respected engineer Derrick Finley to the newly created position of competition director. Peter Sospenzo already is on board as Gilliland’s crew chief.

Gilliland and Kvapil finished 32nd and 33rd, respectively, in last year’s points standings.